Already in a bad mood because of Jenny's rejection, Jared grumbled, "Do I have to report everything to you? Mind your own business, will you?""Jared Stewart!" the nurse huffed. "I'm your girlfriend. Can’t I care about your business?""You're my girlfriend, not my wife," Jared sneered. She wasn't fit to be his wife yet, he thought.The woman then angrily slapped him on the cheek. "You jerk!"She had already been annoyed with Jared for flirting with other women at their workplace, so his words now triggered her to no end. "I know you think I'm not worth your time, so you go and try to move up the social ladder whenever you can, but have you looked at yourself? You really think the other person has eyes for you?"With that said, her gaze briefly lingered on Jenny. The commotion had long attracted the attention of nearly every diner. Some were amused, and some were shaking their heads in exasperation. Couldn't the two lovebirds leave their Romeo and Juliet act behind closed doors
Sleep crashed into Jenny the moment she sat back in the front passenger seat. She drifted off almost instantly, trusting the man beside her. Alec didn't say anything throughout the ride, he only slowed his driving speed.They soon reached home.Just as Alec was wondering whether to carry Jenny back home or wait for her to awaken, she slowly blinked her eyes open."Sorry…fell asleep." she yawned. Embarrassment laced her tone. She didn't even remember when she started sleeping.Alec shrugged and opened the door for her. "Get some rest."With an arm around her shoulders, Alec led Jenny inside the building. Jenny wasn't in a rush to go back. Her father was still at her place, so they wouldn't be able to spend time with each other any further for the night if she went back."Can we go to your place for a bit?" Jenny asked suddenly.Alec took a split second to recover from his surprise before responding, "Sure."He unlocked his door, and the two stepped in.The apartment decor had
Alec was somewhat surprised by the seriousness of her question. He gave it some serious thought for several minutes.After what seemed like a year, he met Jenny's gaze again. "I like how dedicated you are and how strong you make yourself be. I like everything about you."The first time Alec had seen her, she was tending to a patient. The patient hadn't believed in her skill and had called for the hospital director to vouch for her. Alec had stepped in to vouch for her instead. He hadn't thought much of it at first—he just wanted to plant a good impression since he also wanted Jenny to operate on him.But things escalated so quickly after they met. He never imagined that he would fall in love with her. Only after all the time they had spent together did he realize he had fallen for her the moment he got to know her."I'm not as nice a person as you say I am, you know," Jenny huffed. She wasn't a saint."That's alright. All that matters is that I think you are," Alec beamed. Jenny w
The next day, Jenny and Alec spent their time sorting things out. Jenny brought Graham to Orchid Village to pay their respects to her grandfather and inform him that she had returned to her family.Even though Horace wasn't related to her by blood, she still viewed him as her biological grandfather. The old man had raised her to become the person she was today. Not even Graham could compare.Good thing Graham knew that too. He hadn't forced Jenny to stop referring to the old man as her grandpa, nor did he make her pay respects to his father.In fact, Graham's father was the one who forced Graham and Jenny's mother to separate. For that reason, Jenny would never recognize him as family, even if she cared about the Walters.Graham paid his respects to Horace as well, gently touching the gravestone. "Thank you for taking care of my Jenny, sir. She's a fine young woman today, all because of you. I can never thank you enough." Afterward, Jenny brought Graham to David Wilkins' home. Da
Graham couldn't deduce what kind of relationship Jenny had with these women. He just had a strong feeling that theirs was very different from her uncle's. However, he didn't think much of it and pulled out a pouch of cash bills from his pocket. He had prepared it beforehand and handed it to Felicity."A token of my gratitude. For the young one's future." He hadn't prepared anything for Hannah. Granted, it would be strange if he did.Felicity beamed, greedily eyeing the thick pouch. "It must be loaded with cash," she thought. Before she could take the pouch, it was snatched away.Beside them, Jenny opened the newly-acquired pouch and peered inside. "What are you…" Graham asked, confused.There were at least ten thousand dollars in there. Sure, it wasn't much to Graham, but Jenny wasn't about to let her cousin have it so easily. She pulled out two hundred dollars and shoved it to Felicity. "Here. That's about how much our relationship is worth, anyway.""Jenny…" Graham was about
David relaxed upon hearing that. He truly worried Graham would give the women money, not that he didn't care about them, but because he knew very well it wasn't theirs to have."You must give us this compensation today, Jenny Walter!" Hannah commanded angrily. No way would she let Jenny leave without first paying them.Felicity didn't side with her mother this time. Instead, she tugged on the woman's sleeve. "Let's just let this go, Mom. She's too powerful."Ever since Jenny had sicced the cops on her, she had held a level of reverence and fear against Jenny. She didn't want her mother to face the same mess."She's too powerful? I'll show you powerful!" Hannah sneered, finding her daughter cowardly.Jenny chuckled at how silly she looked. "Yeah? What'll you do if I don't give it to you? Beat me up?""You…" Hannah realized she had a point. She wouldn't be able to handle the father and daughter on her own. Her husband would obviously not come to her aid, either. With that in mind,
Jenny and Graham had lunch with David and his family, ignoring Hannah and Felicity's bickering. Afterward, they left Orchid Village and went back to Parrington.Jenny's plans were nearly complete. All she had to do now was make sure to successfully rescue Stephanie.Paul hadn't restricted her personal freedom nor stopped her from using her phone, but Jenny hadn't called Stephanie even once to keep Paul clueless about her plans.After dropping her father off, Jenny went to the Walker family home to meet Stephanie's parents."Mr. Walker, Mrs. Walker," Jenny greeted. The husband and wife seemed much more tired than they had ever been."Is everything ready, Jenny?" The two asked her eagerly. "Can Stephanie leave with us now?""Mhm. That's what I'm here for, actually." She knew the two had waited for a long time for their daughter's rescue.Though Stephanie didn't seem that restrained from her personal freedom, nor did Paul stop her from visiting her family, Stephanie had never done
The moment those words left Alec's mouth, Mortimer stiffened up while Old Mr. Faust's expression grew solemn. "What do you mean, Alec? Did he do something to you?"Old Mr. Faust had promised himself to forgive all the foolishness his son had done in the past, as long as he never hurt Alec, but now…"Don't spout nonsense, Alec Faust. When did I try to kill you?" Knowing his father's personality, Mortimer forced himself to stand his ground.Alec sneered, then tossed up several documents of evidence. "You bribed that therapist, didn't you?"Chills ran up Mortimer's spine. He had totally forgotten about that. When he found that therapist, he bribed the man not to help Alec's condition. In fact, he had told the therapist to encourage it to worsen. He also promised a boatload of money if the therapist convinced Alec to commit suicide.There just didn't seem to be much of a result afterward. Mortimer had even wondered if that therapist had failed.When Old Mr. Faust read through the e
That afternoon, Gilbert called off his engagement to the Silveras. He did not pick up a single one of Lottie's calls. When he found Marigold, she was taking Caleb on a stroll around the neighborhood. It had been a while since she'd taken notice of anything related to Gilbert. She suddenly felt how nice it was to have her mental energy spent somewhere else, no longer being so hung up on that man. However, when Gilbert appeared before her, her heartbeat quickened. "Why are you here?" Marigold said, snapping out of her reverie. Gilbert smiled lightly. Without saying much else, he pulled her into an embrace. "Didn't you say that I could come to see you once everything is settled?" Marigold was stunned. She was in disbelief. "So, what you're saying is it's all over?" "Didn't you read the news?" Gilbert was speechless. "No. I didn't want to care." Every time she saw anything about Gilbert and Lottie, she felt miserable. She'd rather save herself the pain and block out anything
In the end, Esther went with Gilbert's suggestion. However, she did not trade Bradshaw Operation's projects with Jenny. She went with the Silveras. For one, she did not trust the Walters. On the other hand, the Silveras and the Bradshaws were going to be united through marriage. They deserved to be trusted more. Gilbert didn't mind. After all, if anything happened to the Bradshaws, the Silveras would not help. With those projects in hand, they would only fall further into debt. The plan was going smoothly. Gilbert had not gone to see Marigold once. He knew that before subduing the Bradshaws, going to visit Marigold would only endanger her. After all, Marigold was safe. Nothing had happened, and Caleb was growing up healthily. One month later, things began to feel off in Bradshaw Operations. After Faust Group received their money, they did not start the project. No one knew what they were doing. Esther was feeling antsy. She prodded Gilbert to ask if there was anything wro
That very afternoon, Esther and Gilbert rushed to Faust Group to sign the deal. Gilbert said he was worried that Alec would change his mind, so he urged Esther to sign it. Only through a written contract would they be able to relax. Esther thought it made sense and agreed to rush to Faust Group with Gilbert.In the meeting room, Alec looked at the two people before him, expressionless. "You have a good son, Mrs. Bradshaw." "I'm flattered. My son had Bradshaw Operations' interests at heart. He'll inevitably be a little insensitive. Please don't hold that against him, Mr. Faust." Esther smiled. She didn't mind Alec's sarcasm because it didn't matter. As long as Bradshaw Operations could truly benefit from this, she didn't care how much Alec mocked her. Alec smiled coldly and slid the contract over to her. "You may flip through it." Esther took it and read through it seriously.If this project succeeded, they would reap massive rewards. However, it required a massive upfront inv
In the following days, Gilbert headed over to Faust Group infrequently during the day. To others, he was there to talk business with Alec. But in reality, it was a different scenario altogether. Vincent brought Gilbert a cup of coffee in Alec's office. Because of all the times he'd been there, Vincent knew what he wanted without having to ask. Alec had a cup of coffee placed before him, too. Everyone thought that Gilbert was trying to convince Alec to give him one of the shares, which was why he always came there, but that was not the case. The collaboration was a set-up. As long as the Bradshaws signed the deal on the project, they would not escape unscathed. Gilbert had planned this for a long time just to trick the Bradshaws into accepting the project. However, the scheme had to be executed perfectly. Since Gilbert buttered up the project in front of the Bradshaws, Alec had to feign disinterest in his collaboration. Otherwise, it would seem suspicious if Alec, a smart ma
After the engagement party, Gilbert officially had a stronghold in Bradshaw operations. Because he was already very capable, he had a lot of supporters. No one challenged him in the company. Most of them sucked up to him because they knew that if things went well, he would be the heir of the company.Gilbert didn't really care about that. He didn't even want to be there for long. He knocked on Esther's door and walked into her office."Come, sit." Esther was all smiles when she saw him. It was more sincere than before.She used to doubt him a lot, but now, although she still had her reservations, she mostly believed in him. In her eyes, no one would reject the chance to inherit Bradshaw Operations. This was basically manna from Heaven. Gilbert just didn't know it back then, and now he did. Gilbert sat down in front of Esther and began reporting the information he had gathered, as well as his thoughts on Bradshaw Operations and his plans for the future.When he presented the inf
Gilbert and Lottie's engagement party was held at Bardoff Grand Hotel on Saturday.A ton of people showed up to their engagement party. After all, the Bradshaws and the Silveras were pretty big names in Bardoff City, and plenty of the other families knew of their true wealth. They all came to attend the party. Jenny and Alec had both received invites. Jenny was Gilbert's sister, and on top of that, they represented the Walters and the Fausts. It was to be expected. At first, Jenny didn't want to go. The party held no meaning to it. It was just a show put on for Esther. It would be a complete waste of her time. However, she was talked into it by Alec. It would be weird if she didn't go. Zack brought Janet to the party. He found Jenny and was in a daze. "Wasn't Gilbert courting Marigold? Why is he engaged to Lottie?" Jenny rolled her eyes. "What have you been doing, Zack? You're really bad at keeping up." Gilbert had been courting Lottie for a while now. If Zack paid attention
Gilbert drove to Jenny's villa, but he was in no rush to get down. He didn't unlock the doors, either. He obviously wanted to talk to Marigold. But Marigold evidently didn't want to. "I want to take my child and leave." She was afraid. What if Gilbert and Lottie married and took her child away? She no longer believed in love. The only thing she believed in was her child. Gilbert tightened his grip when he heard that. "Marigold, the engagement is only for Esther to see. I have no feelings for Lottie." "Who knows? People change. You said you didn't have feelings for me, too." Marigold found this all very amusing. Perhaps this was fate. Gilbert wanted to keep explaining, but Marigold did not give him the chance to. "Just let me and Caleb leave. If what you say is true, you can come to find us once everything is over." And if Gilbert didn't come looking for her, the truth would unfold itself, and she would give up all hope. Gilbert understood that Marigold had already made
Marigold was miserable throughout dinner, but she persevered till the end without being too dramatic. After dinner, they walked to the entrance of the shopping mall.Gilbert went to get the car. Lottie stood with Jenny and Marigold. Watching Gilbert leave, she turned toward Marigold. "I heard that you used to like Gilbert very much." "It's all in the past. It's not worth mentioning." Marigold didn't want to talk about it. She was afraid that Lottie would see that she still liked Gilbert. Most importantly, she was afraid that Gilbert's plan would be ruined. Lottie smiled. "That's true. The past is the past. You're such a nice person. You'll definitely be able to find someone better suited for you in the future." Marigold pursed her lips. Gilbert soon brought the car over. Lottie was about to get into the car, but before she did, she suddenly turned to Marigold and said, "Gilbert and my engagement party will be in a few days' time. If you have the time, you're more than welcom
Everyone was shocked to hear her speak so suddenly. Lottie was stunned, and she explained, "You've misunderstood. That's not what I meant. I just think that if the child follows his father, it'll help him develop better, and you'll be less stressed." "I don't need your concern. I can raise my child alone," Marigold snorted. She did not hold back at all. Lottie looked unpleasant. Gilbert had no choice but to step in. "We'll have our own child together. And whoever likes it the most will get to keep it." Although they knew that Gilbert had meant this for Lottie to hear, Marigold found it extremely upsetting. She looked at Gilbert, and for a moment, she was unable to tell if he was being genuine. She thought of all that Gilbert had said to her last night, saying that he didn't like Lottie and had no intention of marrying her. But he looked to be truly in love. Marigold didn't think she could tell if he was faking it. "I'm sorry. I need to go to the restroom." Marigold didn't w